San Jose Sharks‘ 1st round pick in the 2012 draft (#17 overall) Czech Republic-born 2nd year center Tomas Hertl(48) may have been shaking his head some when he was reassigned to skate games over the NHL All-Star break with minor league affiliate Worcester Sharks and it’s possible that if the parent club isn’t happy they could keep him down longer.
He’s definitely off to a less than impressive start in his sophomore campaign as his numbers are down dramatically from his rookie season, where he put in 15 goals and 10 assists in 37 games with a -11 rating.
The absolutely towering 6’2″ 210 power forward has only managed 8 goals and 9 assists in 48 games so the spotlight is on him to improve.
There’s little doubt he looks out of place on the farm team this could be the wake up call he needs to become a fixture in the highest level of hockey. In two AHL games he has a pair of assists with a +1 plus/minus.
He already had two years of pro experience as a teenager in his home country’s top league Czech Extraliga with HC Slavia Praha putting up 28 and 30 point seasons
The 21-year old is signed to a three-year entry level deal so it’s important for him to step it up but it’s very doubtful that if he fails to settle in California, another club will definitely give him a huge chance in a different system.